You Can Do Better. Really.

If you play fantasy sports, chances are you use a Website. You know, unless you enjoy crunching stats on a calculator every Tuesday morning to figure out if you beat your neighbor.

Every site has its own unique characteristics. And every Website you'll encounter (including this one) is made by human beings, who carry all the same frailties as every other human being.

But sometimes the frailties are more noticeable than others.

The people who bring you the People's Pigskin are involved in another league with some of the people from the 9beersfantasysportstavern site. For the second year in a row, this league is using FoxSports.com as its host. This is because we were promised the site had improved since last year, when it was abysmal.

One of the features of this site is a "Best Available" page. Let's say you need to make a quick roster switch, because somebody was injured or suspended or just isn't living up to his new contract. This page is supposed to show you the three best players available at any particular position.

Please note the use of the word "supposed."

As of Thursday, September 29, the three running backs listed as "Best Available" on this site were Ryan Torain, Ronnie Brown and, holding the number 1 spot on this list, Jamaal Charles. That's right, the Jamaal Charles who's out for the season.

Want a wide receiver? The three receivers listed as "Best Available" on this site were Mike Williams (Seattle Seahawks version), Austin Collie and, again, holding the number 1 spot on this list, Kenny Britt. That's right, the Kenny Britt who limped off fantasy football rosters across the country this past Sunday.

How about a quarterback? One would expect the free agent pickings to be slim, since every decent fantasy player keeps at least two QBs on the roster. But on this site, the three "Best Available" ones are Tim Tebow, Kerry Collins and, though he doesn't sit at number 1, David Garrard. Yes, you guessed it. The David Garrard who was fired right before opening day.

It's safe to say there are still a few bugs.

Remember to vote for the lineup polls. The NASCAR ones close Friday night. The football ones close Saturday night. Thanks.

Sometimes It Just Comes Together

It's too early to soak ourselves in champagne, but winning like this does feel good.

The People's Pigskin recorded a resounding 133-77 victory over the VinSethVaughn Bears. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team now sports a 2-1 record.

Let's dissect the results.

Eli Manning, QB: 16 of 23 passing for 254 yards, 3 rushes for minus-3 yards, 4 touchdowns and 26 fantasy points. It certainly helped that Victor Cruz picked this week to announce himself to fantasy players.

Ray Rice, RB: 9 rushes for 81 yards, 5 receptions for 83 yards and 16 fantasy points. Rice didn't score any touchdowns, but the Baltimore Ravens didn't need him to.

Joseph Addai, RB: 17 rushes for 86 yards, 1 reception for 2 yards, 1 touchdown and 14 fantasy points. The only possible silver lining to the quarterback problems in Indianapolis is that Addai (who scored the Colts' only offensive touchdown Sunday night) may get more of the workload.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 5 receptions for 64 yards, 1 touchdown and 12 fantasy points. Yet another Pigskin player scored the only touchdown for his team's offense.

Percy Harvin, WR: 2 rushes for 41 yards, 3 receptions for 47 yards and 8 fantasy points. This score certainly would have been higher if Harvin didn't lose his pregame meal late in the game.

Wes Welker, Flex: 1 rush for 19 yards, 16 receptions for 217 yards, 2 touchdowns and 34 fantasy points. With his career outing, Welker gave the New England Patriots everything except a win.

Jason Witten, TE: 6 receptions, 60 yards and 6 fantasy points. Witten made the most of an evening where Tony Romo's biggest problem may have been his center instead of his ribs.

Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 1 touchdown scored, 1 fumble recovery, 1 sack, 20 points allowed and 11 fantasy points. That defensive touchdown alone would have made this a successful fantasy outing.

John Kasay, K: 1 for 1 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 6 fantasy points. Kasay was one of the beneficiaries of a fourth-quarter scoring bonanza in New Orleans.

Bench: Some weeks, having three bench players score 11 points each (Michael Bush, Plaxico Burress and Brandon Pettigrew) would be a problem. And then there are weeks like this one.

Now, it's time to put that game in the rear mirror and turn our attention to this week's matchup against the t-bay jacks Young'ry Buccs. The polls are now open and will remain open through Saturday night. So please get those votes in, so we can keep this winning streak going.

Caught in a Granite Rockslide

It was an awful finish to what could have been a great day for the People's Pitstop.
Instead of surging back into contention in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league, the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored only 240 points during Sunday's Chase race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Our season total of 7,386 dropped us two spots in the league standings, all the way to sixth place.
Here's how we got there.
Kevin Harvick: Started 6th, finished 12th, 1 lap led and 78 fantasy points. Spoiler alert -- Harvick, now an ex-owner in the truck series, ended up with the best performance among our starting drivers. And yes, we benched the eventual winner.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Started 12th, finished 17th and 58 fantasy points. A couple of flat tires helped keep Earnhardt out of contention. This may be where one of the Chase spots was truly wasted.
Clint Bowyer: Started 11th, finished 26th (2 laps behind the leaders), 49 laps led and 50 fantasy points. Bowyer actually looked like he could win this one -- until he ran out of fuel with a few laps left. That's how quickly a great day can turn into a lousy one.
Anyway, that was Bowyer's ninth and final start for the People's Pitstop. His average finish during those races was 19.4, and he scored an average of 59.9 points. His best performance was in April at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished second (his best performance ever on that track) and scored 101 points. His worst performance was in Kentucky, where a wreck left him in 35th place with 22 points. Bowyer just didn't have it this year.
Bobby Labonte: Started 15th, finished 19th (1 lap behind the leaders) and 54 fantasy points. Actually, a top 20 finish is probably the best we can hope for from the C List drivers still available to us.
Well, if we're going to get back into contention for the league title, the time to turn this around is this Sunday at Dover International Speedway. And we clearly need your help. The lineup polls are up and will stay up through Friday night, since we have a Saturday qualifying session. Please vote early and often.
We'll be back with the fantasy football results. They aren't finalized yet. However, as Tom Cruise said to Kelly McGillis, it's looking good so far.

Fearless Predictions - Week 3

If your idea of "mood music" involves John Facenda, you're in the right frame of mind for another football Sunday. You're also ready for another round of fantasy football predictions for the always challenging People's League. Last week's forecasts went 2-3, bringing our season record to an even 5-5.
People's Pigskin vs. VinSethVaughn Bears. Both lineups have been shaken up by the multiple injuries on the Dallas Cowboys roster, but the Pigskin should be able to overcome its nicks and scrapes and emerge with a winning record.
LA Lockouts vs. Glen Gardner's Finest. This lineup features fantasy stars galore, but the hero of this matchup might be Brandon Marshall, who has fueled Chad Henne's strong start and should find the end zone again against the Cleveland Browns. The Finest have the slightest of edges here as a result.
Arcadia Roses vs. t-bay jacks Young'ry Buccs. Michael Turner is a beast, but all the other head-to-head matchups should favor the Roses, who should cruise to the winning column here.
Palm Bay, Fl. BearDown85 vs. Minneapolis Fantastic Houll. Rex Grossman will get some points Monday night, presenting some hope of a BearDown comeback. But he won't score enough to overcome the tremendous lead the Houlls should get early from Tom Brady. The Houlls should emerge with a winning record.
Team Brotherton vs. Hudson Valley Hawks2. The amazing thing isn't that the Hawks, with a well-rounded lineup, come into this game with a 2-0 record. The amazing thing is that the Hawks have been able to do this while getting almost no production from Chris Johnson. That should change as Johnson and company face the Denver Broncos. The Hawks' winning streak, on the other hand, should continue.
Enjoy the games, everybody. We'll be back with results.

The People's Choice - Week 3

On this first Sunday of autumn, we are pleased to report that you, the Internet, came through again. You registered your votes (and, by extension, your concerns) on the People's Pigskin lineup for this week. Here are the players who will take the field for the Internet's favorite fantasy football team as they take on the VinSethVaughn Bears.
Quarterback: You had enough concerns about Tony Romo's midsection to turn his "questionable" status into a "let some other fantasy team take the chance" status. As a result, you decided to start Eli Manning instead. He'll face the Philadelphia Eagles and hope he doesn't face a Miracle of the Meadowlands, Part 3. (Yes, I know the game is in Philadelphia. Work with me here.)
Running back: It's no surprise that the top vote-getter in this poll was Ray Rice. He suits up in the late afternoon against the St. Louis Rams. What might surprise is that the runner-up was Joseph Addai. He gets a few extra hours to prepare for the Sunday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wide receiver: This week's receiver poll resulted in a three-way tie involving Larry Fitzgerald, Wes Welker and Percy Harvin. Since there are two spots labeled "wide receiver," we'll use ESPN's week 3 projections to break the tie. Fitzgerald (19), who visits the Seattle Seahawks in the late afternoon, and Harvin (15), who plays the Detroit Lions, edge out Welker (14). However...
Flex: Since Wes Welker got more votes than the third-place running back (Michael Bush), he gets this spot for his matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
There were no changes at tight end (Jason Witten, who has a Monday night date against the Washington Redskins), defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night) or kicker (ageless wonder John Kasay, facing the Houston Texans).
Thanks for your votes, everybody. We'll be back with the People's League predictions.

Fearless Predictions - New Hampshire

Like Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, the predictions have been fighting their way back into the realm of respectability. For those of you just joining us, these forecasts tell you which Sprint Cup drivers will finish in the top 10 every week. Last week's predictions went 3-1, lifting our season record to 37-63. Now, let's see how high we can lift that record between now and Homestead.
One from the front: He's ineligible for the People's Pitstop lineup, since he's already started for us nine times, but that doesn't mean we can't benefit somehow from Ryan Newman. He won the last time NASCAR was in New Hampshire, and he starts from the pole for this race.
One from the back: The bottom 10 is the usual driver wasteland, so we'll pick Mike Bliss again. He's starting 40th, but he finished in 25th place last week. That means he's trying to get to the front.
Two from the middle: Many of the drivers we could pick from the middle are already in the People's Pitstop lineup this week. One driver who isn't is Tony Stewart, who starts 20th. He won last week and finished 2nd the last time we were in New Hampshire. If he is a legitimate contender for the Sprint Cup, he'll demonstrate it this week.
For the final pick, we're going to reach deep into the starting order (and the point standings) for Denny Hamlin. He starts 28th, but he can't stay there if he wants to make a run at the Sprint Cup. Fortunately, this is a track that has treated him well. He won at New Hampshire in 2007 and finished in the top five there in the summer.
We'll be back with the results of our fantasy football lineup polls. They are still taking votes for a little bit longer. Get your votes in now.

The People's Choice - New Hampshire

We at the People's Pigskin have spent the past week trying to figure out the new Facebook layout and trying to figure out the difference between a punctured lung and a collapsed lung. Having failed on both counts, we are happy to report at least one success. You, the Internet, successfully selected another roster for the People's Pitstop.
Here are the drivers who will represent the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team during Sunday's Chase race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
A List: Considering how last week's race turned out, it should come as little surprise that the two winners of this poll were Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. The starting spot will go to Harvick, who will start in 6th place, or 14 spots in front of Stewart.
B List: This poll had one clear-cut winner, Brad Keselowski. It also had three drivers tied for second: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer and A.J. Allmendinger. And the qualifying efforts were almost as close. Bowyer (11th) and Earnhardt (12th) earned starting spots over Allmendinger (13th) and Keselowski (16th). For Bowyer, it will be the ninth and final start of the season for the People's Pitstop. Let's hope he makes the most of it.
C List: It looks like this poll will be ruled by Regan Smith and Bobby Labonte until further notice. They got all the votes in this week's poll. Labonte (15th) will start over Smith (17th).
It was a decent showing in the qualifying session, but it wasn't enough to get us any bonus points. In fact, we fell from third place to fourth place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league, where we now trail Dale Jr Amp National Guard 88 by 8 points.
We'll be back shortly with predictions for this race. In the meantime, be sure to vote on the People's Pigskin lineup polls, which will close tonight. We need all the help we can get.

Have We Run Out of Gas?

Tony Stewart was able to hold on Monday, but the People's Pitstop was not so fortunate.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored only 192 points during the rain-delayed Chase-opening race at Chicagoland Speedway. The performance was bad enough that our season total of 7,146 points dropped us from first place to third place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league. We trail Jeff Gordon Dupont 24 by 63 points and SteelerFan4Tony by 6.
Here are the unpleasant details.
Jeff Gordon: Started 23rd, finished 24th (2 laps behind the leaders) and 44 fantasy points. Gordon was one of the most notable victims of Monday's fuel-strategy finish.
Brad Keselowski: Started 6th, finished 5th, 4 laps led and 92 fantasy points. By far the brightest spot on our roster, Keselowski had enough sense to lead some laps during a caution midway through the race and enough gas to stay on the lead lap at the end.
A.J. Allmendinger: Started 18th, finished 27th (2 laps behind the leaders) and 38 fantasy points. This Tweet might have summed it all up: "Greg [crew chief Greg Erwin] and the boys kept swinging at it, but didn't get where we needed." 
Bobby Labonte: Started 11th, finished 38th (31 laps behind the leaders) and 18 fantasy points. And our drivers who weren't running out of fuel were having trouble with their fuel system.
But this race, like the one for the Sprint Cup itself, is far from over. We have a great chance to rebound at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but we need your help. And quickly. The lineup polls are now open. They will close Thursday night to accommodate a qualifying session scheduled for Friday. Please get those votes in now.

Our First Victory of the Season

It's easy to get nervous when you're playing fantasy football against someone who has Michael Vick as a starter, but the People's Pigskin can now breathe a sigh of relief.
The Internet's favorite fantasy football team beat Glen Gardner's Finest by a score of 109-71. That lifts our season record to 1-1.
Here's how we did it.
Tony Romo, QB: 20 of 33 passing for 345 yards, 2 touchdowns and 21 fantasy points. How do you extinguish questions about your ability to perform under pressure? By making a big play in overtime to lead your team to victory. Of course, the pressure questions have been replaced with questions about his ribs, which we'll have to monitor closely this week.
Ray Rice, RB: 13 rushes for 43 yards, 5 receptions for 53 yards, 1 touchdown and 15 fantasy points. Yes, his production against the Tennessee Titans dropped from last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he's definitely a keeper.
DeAngelo Williams, RB: 5 rushes for 13 yards, 4 receptions for 23 yards and 3 fantasy points. Yes, it's hard to shine in Cam Newton's shadow, but eventually Williams has to start performing like a player who signed a big contract in the off-season.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 7 receptions for 133 yards, 1 touchdown and 19 fantasy points. Play like this one are what everyone had in mind when Arizona traded for Kevin Kolb.
Wes Welker, WR: 7 receptions, 81 yards and 8 fantasy points. No, Welker didn't get another 99-yard touchdown, but he will remain a fantasy factor as long as he's running patterns for Tom Brady.
Percy Harvin, Flex: 2 rushes for 18 yards, 7 receptions for 76 yards, 1 fumble lost and 6 fantasy points. This shows that you can get just as much fantasy production from a player on a struggling team as you can from a player on a Super Bowl contender.
Jason Witten, TE: 7 receptions, 102 yards and 10 fantasy points. If you're paying attention, you've noticed that four different starters for the People's Pigskin caught seven passes. We're sure that's a coincidence and not some football conspiracy.
Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 5 sacks, 0 points allowed and 13 fantasy points. It seems as if the Seattle Seahawks had the cure for whatever ailed the Steelers.
John Kasay, K: 3 for 3 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 14 fantasy points. This 53-yarder helped Kasay post a double-digit fantasy score for the second time in as many weeks.
Bench: Joseph Addai, who lost this week's flex faceoff to Harvin, scored 9 points. Michael Bush scored 8 points. We'd give you Eli Manning's score, but he plays Monday night against the St. Louis Rams.
Now that we have that first win, it's time to start working on collecting our second against the VinSethVaughn Bears. To do that, we'll need your help. The polls are now open and will stay open through Saturday night. Please vote now.
We'll be back with NASCAR results when (and if) they become available.

Fearless Predictions - Week 2

Time to make those last-second adjustments, get your popcorn ready and settle in for another nice, long day of football. Before you get too comfortable, it's time to tell you what will happen this week in the People's League. Last week's forecasts went 3-2, so do with them as you will.
People's Pigskin vs. Glen Gardner's Finest. Yes, Michael Vick is primed for a big Sunday night return to Atlanta. But we at the Pigskin believe we'll prevail anyway, because we're good enough, we're smart enough, and, doggone it, the Internet likes us.
Minneapolis Fantastic Houll vs. t-bay jacks Young'ry Buccs. Jack has too many weapons at too many positions to predict anything but a Buccs romp.
Hudson Valley Hawks2 vs. LA Lockouts. Who here foresaw Chris Johnson being ignored last week? Who expects that to happen again? Neither do we. He'll carry the Hawks to a second win.
VinSethVaughan Bears vs. Arcadia Roses. Arian Foster may still not be 100% healthy, but Steve Smith's resurgence means it won't matter. The Roses make it to the win column this week.
Team Brotherton vs. Palm Bay, Fl. BearDown85. Both teams have a playmaker playing on Sunday night. DeSean Jackson may get just a few more scoring opportunities than LeSean McCoy. Look for the Brothertons to win in a squeaker.
Thanks for playing, and enjoy the games. We'll be back with the results.

The People's Choice - Week 2

Before we make the switch from your usual morning beverage to the unofficial beverage of the People's Pigskin, it's time to thank you, the Internet, for another week of input. Thanks to your votes, the Web's favorite fantasy football team has a strong roster to bounce back from last week's loss. Here's who will take the field against Glen Gardner's Finest.
Quarterback: Turnovers aside, Tony Romo showed you enough talent to keep his starting spot. He will visit the San Francisco 49ers late this afternoon.
Running back: The two top vote-getters in this poll were -- no surprise here -- Ray Rice (who visits the Tennessee Titans today) and DeAngelo Williams (who faces the Green Bay Packers).
Wide receiver: Somebody was paying attention on Monday night to something other than Ron Jaworski's language. You gave one starting spot to Wes Welker, who faces the San Diego Chargers late this afternoon. The other spot went to former fantasy football magazine cover boy Larry Fitzgerald. We pays a visit to the Washington Redskins.
Flex: In this week's battle of third-place finishers, we didn't need the projected points tiebreaker. Percy Harvin got more votes than Joseph Addai, so he gets the start. He'll play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There were no changes at tight end (Jason Witten, facing the 49ers), defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, who face the Seattle Seahawks) or kicker (John Kasay, who goes up against the Chicago Bears).
Thanks again for voting. We'll be back a little later with some predictions for the People's League.

Fearless Predictions - Chicago

We'll have our second fantasy football selection set of the season shortly. For now, let's ease you into your Sunday morning with some predictions for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who will finish in the top 10 at today's Chase-opening race at Chicagoland Speedway. Last week's forecasts went a pedestrian 2-2, leaving us with a season record of 34-62.
One from the front: Kurt Busch has plenty going for him this week. He's starting third, putting him in front of all the other Chase drivers. He has five top 10 finishes on this track. He has finished in the top 10 the last two weeks. And he certainly wouldn't be the first champion in the history of sports to have angry confrontations with reporters.
One from the back: We haven't had a lot of luck lately trying to pick a driver from the bottom 10. This week, we'll try Mike Bliss, who starts 42nd. Since joining the Sprint Cup series in May, his worst finish has been 36th. In other words, he (unlike some other drivers we could select) has avoided the "start and park" disease.
Two from the middle: This is the time Jimmie Johnson, who starts 12th this week. usually puts the pedal to the metal. He has finished in the top 10 in five of the last six weeks. He has seven top 10 finishes at Chicagoland. And then there's the whole "Five Time" thing.
OK, Dale Earnhardt Jr. It's time, in the words of Woody Harrelson to nut up or shut up. You're in the Chase for the first time since 2008. You're at a track where you have won before. You're starting in the 19th spot for this race. If you want to stay in Madison Avenue's sights for something other than your name, you need to produce some results.
And we need to produce some fantasy football poll results and predictions. Those will come shortly.

The People's Choice - Chicago

Another work week has come and gone, and you, the Internet, found time once again to vote on the People's Pitstop lineup. Your votes, combined with Saturday's qualifying session, give us these starters for Sunday's NASCAR race at Chicagoland Speedway, the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
A List: As we've said before, it's hard to bet against Jeff Gordon these days. He won this week's poll, with Kevin Harvick as the runner-up, and he will start by virtue of qualifying 23rd (versus 30th for Harvick).
B List: Brad Keselowski is having a heck of a run these days, too. He won this week's B List poll, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., A.J. Allmendinger and Mark Martin. The only thing Keselowski didn't do was earn us bonus points. He did get a start by qualifying 6th. Allmendinger (18th) beat out Earnhardt (19th) and Martin (25th) for the other starting spot.
C List: This poll resulted in a tie between Bobby Labonte and David Gilliland. The qualifying session turned out...differently. Labonte (11th) easily earned a starting spot over Gilliland (38th).
We'll be back with some predictions for both the NASCAR race and the People's League fantasy football matchups. Speaking of which, you still have time to vote on the players who will take the field for the People's Pigskin this week, so please vote now.

Some Bad Signs Are Easy to See

Not everyone can win a fantasy sports championship. Somebody has to end up on the bottom. And it's not always that person who abandons the team after two or three bad weeks. Sometimes, it's someone who failed to see the warning signs.
For example, it's a bad sign if your starting quarterback is the subject of a billboard campaign to be replaced by this guy.
It's also a bad sign if your starting receiver has to deal with Darrelle Revis after the receiver's injured teammate called him overhyped. All-Pro defensive backs tend to take their anger out on whichever receiver is handy.
It's certainly not a good sign if you mistakenly based your drafting strategy on Grantland.com's Bad Quarterback League draft. ("Hmm, Simmons says he's worth a first-round pick. I'm glad I...what? Their scoring is based on what?!?)
On a related note, it's not the best of signs if your starting quarterback just inspired Bill Simmons to coin a new term to describe a truly awful play.
Of course, the bad signs aren't limited to fantasy football. They can also pop up in fantasy NASCAR.
For instance, one bad sign would be if your driver's sponsor were planning to pull out of the sport, and most fans responded with a collective shrug.
Another bad sign would be if one of your starting drivers were accused of spinning out on purpose to help your teammate win a race.
It's also a terrible sign if your star driver got suspended for testing positive for marijuana, and your driver reacted by saying it was medical marijuana. (Right, and that stuff in Michael Waltrip's engine was food coloring, too.)
Avoid signs like these, and maybe you can add a trophy like this to your mantle this fall.
In the meantime, help us get our own glory by voting in the lineup polls on your right. The fantasy NASCAR polls will close tonight. The fantasy football polls will close Saturday night.
We'll be back with the racing results.

A NASCAR Playoff Primer

A NASCAR season that started in February has finally reached its post-season. Twelve lucky Sprint Cup drivers will compete over the next 10 weeks (and you thought hockey had a long playoff) for the right to lift the aforementioned cup, which technially isn't a cup, but we'll save that for another post.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup begins Sunday with a race at Chicagoland Motor Speedway. And here's what the makeup of that Chase can teach us.

First of all, we have to answer the question everyone has been asking since NASCAR unveiled yet another change in its scoring procedure: Do wins matter?

Well, in one sense, they don't. Two drivers -- Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- made it into this year's Chase without winning a single race. Five other drivers, including the winner of the Darlington race and the winners of both Daytona races, are on the outside looking in. Trevor Bayne (who became ineligible the moment he decided to chase a Nationwide Series title) is the fourth Daytona 500 winner in as many years to fail to make the postseason. Bright side: We may be approaching the day when talking heads stop referring to the Daytona 500 as the Super Bowl of motorsports.

In another sense, wins do matter. At least, they matter more than a stellar regular-season performance. In most sports, the top performer of the regular season would be rewarded in some way for it -- a bye week, home field advantage, etc. In NASCAR, Kyle Busch watched his points lead evaporate the moment Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line first last week in Richmond, equalling Busch's win total for the season (four). Both drivers will start the season with 2,012 points.

And if your Chase spot came via the wild card route, wins don't matter at all. You remember Stewart and Earnhardt, who got into the Chase without a single win? They start the Chase with 2,000 points -- the same number as Brad Keselowski, who won three times this season. Jeff Gordon's three wins are worth nine bonus points. Keselowski's are not.

Some wins are more equal than others.

And if Jimmie Johnson manages to win a sixth straight Sprint Cup, no one will notice that he won only one race during the regular season.

Got all that? Good. Now vote on the polls (fantasy NASCAR and fantasy football) on the right side of the page.

The Pigskin's Painful Week 1

The National Football League's opening weekend did not hurt as much for us as it did for Eric Berry or Nate Kaeding, but it came close enough.
The People's Pigskin dropped a heartbreaker to the Hudson Valley Hawks2, losing by a final score of 84-81. We open the People's League season with a record of 0-1.
Here's how we got here.
Tony Romo, QB: 23 of 36 passing for 342 yards, 3 rushes for 9 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 1 fumble lost and 17 fantasy points. Maybe it's unfair to pin this on him, but Romo was one of the last two players representing the Pigskin, and we had this game won until those two late turnovers.
Ray Rice, RB: 19 rushes for 107 yards, 4 receptions for 42 yards, 2 touchdowns and 26 fantasy points. Rice was clearly our star of the week. His ability to find holes (and the end zone) played a critical in a Baltimore beatdown of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
DeAngelo Williams, RB: 12 rushes for 30 yards, 1 reception for 6 yards and 3 fantasy points. While Cam Newton was setting records under center, Williams must have been wondering whether he could get a little love. The good news: He got more carries than Jonathan Stewart.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 3 receptions, 62 yards and 6 fantasy points. The good news is that Fitzgerald got the most targets from Kevin Kolb. That should mean the reception and yardage figures will go up as the season progresses.
Percy Harvin, WR: 4 rushes for 15 yards, 2 receptions for 7 yards, 1 return touchdown and 7 fantasy points. It's a good thing Harvin found the end zone on special teams, because Donovan McNabb's tenure at the Minnesota Vikings got off to a rough start.
Joseph Addai, Flex: 8 rushes for 39 yards, 2 receptions for 13 yards and 4 fantasy points. The conventional wisdom was that, even without Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts had enough offensive weapons to at least tread water. Maybe not.
Jason Witten, TE: 6 receptions, 110 yards and 11 fantasy points. How many things would have changed if Jim Leonhard doesn't tackle Witten on that late deep catch? Well, for one thing, we would have had enough points to win this game.
Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 1 sack, 35 points allowed, and minus-3 fantasy points. It's not often you hear the words "Steelers" and "completely manhandled" in the same sentence. At least, not with the Steelers as the recipient of said manhandling.
John Kasay, K: 2 for 2 on field goals, 4 for 4 on extra points and 10 fantasy points. So what if he's 41 years old? He might be a keeper.
Bench: Wes Welker racked up 28 points (in bunches). Eli Manning scored 14, and former teammate Plaxico Burress scored 13.
This week, the People's Pigskin licks its wounds and gets ready for a week 2 matchup against Glen Gardner's Finest. We need your help to avoid an 0-2 start. The polls are open (below the NASCAR lineup polls) and will remain open through Saturday night. Please vote now. Thanks.

On to the NASCAR Playoffs

We'll get to the fantasy football results in just a moment. First, now that we've recovered from chasing Wes Welker, it's time to tell you about the People's Pitstop weekend. The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored precisely 200 points Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. It wasn't all that impressive, but our season total of 6,954 is just good enough to keep us in first place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league. Our lead over Dale Jr Amp National Guard 88 is down to 46 points. Obviously, we'll need all the help we can get this week, but more on that later.
Here is how we did on the last week before the Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR's version of the playoffs.
Kyle Busch: Started 13th, finished 6th and 80 fantasy points. All in all, not a bad effort for someone with nothing at stake. Busch had already secured at least a tie for the top spot in the Chase standings.
Clint Bowyer: Started 5th, finished 22nd (1 lap behind the leaders) and 48 fantasy points. Bowyer came into this race having an outside shot at making the Chase. But then he got to close to you know who.
Kasey Kahne: Started 12th, finished 38th (350 laps behind the leaders) and 16 fantasy points. Given the way Kahne's night went, you might be tempted to say he's ready for his season to end. But then you have to consider the fact that his sponsor is pulling out when his season ends.
Regan Smith: Started 23rd, finished 18th and 56 fantasy points. Sometimes, the best you can hope for from your driver is a post-race headline that contains the phrase "avoids wrecks."
Now it's time for the Chase, which begins this year at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. We have a fresh set of polls available for your voting. They will close Friday night, because the qualifying session is scheduled for Saturday. (Please note the "LAST TIME" next to Bowyer's name. He's down to his ninth and final start for us.)
We'll be back as soon as possible with the football results.

Fearless Predictions - Week 1

What would a new season of fantasy football be without predictions about which teams will come out of the gates flying and which teams lose their jockey? We are not going to find out. Instead, we'll tell you how week 1 should go in the always competitive People's League.
People's Pigskin vs. Hudson Valley Hawks2: You, the Internet, helped us pick a superb lineup for this week. And you, the Internet, should get the credit as the Pigskin season starts with a win.
t-bay jacks Young'ry Bucs vs. VinSeth Vaughn Bears: The Bears were among the fantasy teams across the country that suffered when Mark Ingram failed to find the end zone at the end of Thursday night's game. That failure may prove the difference in a Bucs win.
Minneapolis Fantastic Houll vs. Team Brotherton: One thing that fantasy players hate more than single-digit starter scores is the letter "Q" next to a starter's name. And Austin Collie's questionable status is compounded by the questionable status of his offense in Kerry Collins' hands. Look for a Brotherton victory.
Glen Gardner's Finest vs. Arcadia Roses: Michael Vick was the MVP of a lot of fantasy leagues last season, and he's showing no signs of being anything else this season. You can ignore all the "dream team" talk, but you can't ignore the potential for the Finest to prevail.
LA Lockouts vs. Palm Bay, Fl. BearDown85: The Lockouts already have 53 fantasy points, and that's before Adrian Peterson, the number 1 pick in a lot of leagues this summer, takes the field with his new contract. The Lockouts should hold on to this lead through Monday night.
Take a moment to remember the fallen, and enjoy the games. We'll be back with some NASCAR results and fresh polls.

The People's Choice - Week 1

We are (finally) ready for the first Sunday of the National Football League season. Before we get this pigskin smorgasbord under way, we need to thank you, the Internet, for voting on the lineup polls that determine who the People's Pigskin will start this week against the Hudson Valley Hawks2. Here are the results.
Quarterback: Some of these choices will be simple. Tony Romo won this poll by a landslide, so he gets the start. He faces the New York Jets on Sunday night.
Running back: We might not have gotten the running we targeted in our draft, but we do have a few that you like. The top two vote-getters were Ray Rice (who plays the Pittsburgh Steelers) and DeAngelo Williams (who visits the Arizona Cardinals).
Wide receiver: We did get our targeted wideout, Larry Fitzgerald. He won this poll and gets the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Percy Harvin finished second, so he gets the other starting spot. He visits the San Diego Chargers today with his new quarterback.
Flex: This spot can go to a running back or a wide receiver. We will give it to the player who finishes third in his poll and gets the most votes. If there is a tie (as there was this week), we will go with the player projected by ESPN to score more points. This week, Joseph Addai is projected to score one more point than Wes Welker, so Addai gets the nod at the Houston Texans.
No surprises at tight end (Jason Witten, who visits the Jets) or defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, who visit the Baltimore Ravens), and we already used John Kasay on Thursday night.
Grab some popcorn. We'll be back shortly with predictions for this week's action in the People's League.

Fearless Predictions - Richmond

It's going to be a busy weekend for this Website. NASCAR has a Saturday night special at Richmond International Raceway, and most of the National Football League will kick off the 2011 season on Sunday. Before those things, though, we have predictions for the Sprint Cup drivers who will finish in the top 10 tonight. Last week's forecasts went 3-1, lifting our season record to 32-60.
One from the front: Insert the Gomer Pyle "Surprise, surprise, surprise" sound effect here. Jimmie Johnson leads the pack in driver points as the Chase approaches. He finished second last week and starts fifth at Richmond, where he has won three times and finished in the top 10 in the last two races.
One from the back: The usual gang of idiots occupy the bottom 10 spots in this race, and our pick last week (Dave Blaney) developed kidney stones Monday and became the first driver to return to the garage on Tuesday. This week, we'll go with Robby Gordon, who starts 37th and at least has a top five finish at this track on his resume.
Two from the middle: Right now, how can you pick against Jeff Gordon? Last week, he not only won the race at Atlanta, earning sole possession of third place on NASCAR's all-time win list, but he also met Justin Bieber! This week, he starts 17th, but he's not a good bet to finish there.
OK, Tony Stewart. It's time to put up or shut up. True, you're starting 22nd, but you had a strong finish at Atlanta, and you have three wins on this track. You also have a tenuous hold on the 10th and final automatic berth in the Chase, and you can wrap up that playoff spot by working your way toward the front. As Robin Williams said in "Good Will Hunting," it's your move, chief.
Don't forget to get those votes in for the People's Pigskin lineup. Those polls will close Saturday night. We'll be back with predictions for the first week of the fantasy football season.

The People's Choice - Richmond

There will be no bonus points for the People's Pitstop this week, but we still have a solid lineup. You, the Internet, voted on the NASCAR drivers who should represent us at Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. Your votes, combined with Friday afternoon's qualifying session, have produced these results.
A List: In the last race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, you split your votes even between a driver who's locked into the Chase (Kyle Busch) and one still fighting to get in (Tony Stewart). Busch qualified 13th, or nine spots in front of Stewart, so he will get the start.
B List: The co-winners of this poll were Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer, followed by Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bowyer (5th) and Kahne (12th) get the starting nods over Keselowski (19th) and Earnhardt (27th).
C List: Two new favorites have settled into the top spots of this poll. Bobby Labonte got the most votes, while Regan Smith finished second. In qualifying, the order was reversed. Smith will start 23rd, or nine spots in front of Labonte.
We'll be back with predictions for this race. In the meantime, feel free to vote in the fantasy football polls still available on the right side of this page. We want the People's Pigskin lineup to be as strong as possible, and we need your help. Thanks.

Our First Result of the Season

The National Football League is about to kick off another season (if the folks in Washington wrap up in time), and we at the People's Pigskin want to thank you, the Internet, for helping us get things started.
Our first fantasy football lineup poll of the season is completed, and you decided that we should let John Kasay of the New Orleans Saints handle the kicking chores this week. He visits Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers tonight.
Please remember that the rest of the polls on the right side of this page are still open. The NASCAR lineup polls will close tonight, and the rest of the fantasy football polls will close Saturday night. Feel free to vote while you watch the game (or the speech -- we at the People's Pigskin don't judge).
We'll be back with the NASCAR poll results.

Your Vacation Is Officially Over

A generation ago, even the most diehard football fans wouldn't have dared to think that the National Football League could form its own television channel and keep people tuned to it 12 months a year. But these days, you might feel cheated when this channel interrupts its live updates to bring you a Super Bowl rerun.
That's the way sports are these days, especially if you're a fantasy player. When the NFL had its lockout, all we wanted to know was when it was going to end. Now that the lockout and preseason are over, we want to know who's going to play. If you have a fantasy football team, you better not think you can ignore it for six days, come back to it on Sunday and rest assured that your team's fortunes haven't changed.
On Tuesday, if you were paying attention, you learned that the Jacksonville Jaguars had waited until five days before their season opener (and after he appeared at a chamber of commerce luncheon) to fire David Garrard. At first glimpse, this may not seem like a major concern to fantasy football players, since the only reason you would have been starting Garrard is because you had found a bad quarterback league. But football is a team sport, and one player's misfortune affects so many others. Did you spend your late first round pick on Maurice Jones-Drew? Will he now be facing a defense featuring 11 nose tackles? Maybe you took a flyer on a Jaguars receiver in the 13th round. Are you sure Luke McCown even knows that receiver's name?
Then, on Wednesday, if you were paying any attention at all, you learned that Peyton Manning won't be ready to play Sunday. If you rolled the dice and drafted him anyway, do you have a reliable quarterback to start this week? Do you need to go find Kerry Collins (and pray your opponent for this week didn't just get him off the waiver wire just to burn you)? Do all the other Indianapolis Colts players littering fantasy rosters remain valuable now that Collins is calling the shots? If you wait until Sunday to ask yourself these questions, you may find your alternatives to be quite slim.
And those were the relatively easy calls. We haven't even gotten to things like Arian Foster's photogenic hamstring or Ryan Grant's playing time or whether the Cincinnati Bengals really are stupid enough to let Carson Palmer rot on the shelf to make some short-sighted point. Some of these questions may be resolved by the time this post is published. Some of them may still be in the air at 12:59 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
All of them are why NFL Network won't have to worry about going off the air anytime soon.
Quick reminder: There are polls that need your votes. The kicker poll closes at 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. The fantasy NASCAR polls close Thursday night, and the other fantasy football polls close Saturday night. Please contribute your votes to this experiment in fantasy democracy. Thanks.

Hanging in There

The People's Pitstop scored 222 points in the severely delayed Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It wasn't an impressive outing, but our season total of 6,754 allows us to hang on to the top spot in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league. We lead Dale Jr Amp National Guard 88 by 96 points.
Here are the scoring details from a soggy and historic race.
Kyle Busch: Started 3rd, finished 23rd, 19 laps led and 59 fantasy points. Busch found the front early but found nothing but trouble later in the race, including a pass-through penalty that essentially took him out of the running -- and out of first place in the driver standings.
Clint Bowyer: Started 2nd, finished 36th, 8 laps led and 35 fantasy points. Bowyer also got to the lead early in the race, but he couldn't stay away from the wall (or Juan Pablo Montoya).
A.J. Allmendinger: Started 11th, finished 10th and 72 fantasy points. You know you've had better fantasy NASCAR days when your top scorer is someone who makes people say, "Oh, yeah, he finished in the top 10, and he still has a shot at the Chase."
Paul Menard: Started 22nd, finished 18th and 56 fantasy points. That was Menard's ninth and final start for the People's Pitstop this season, and his time with us ended, not with a bang, but with a whimper. In his nine starts, he racked up 630 points, or an average of 70 a race. His best performance for us was in Michigan in June, when he finished 4th and scored 94 points. His worst was in New Hampshire, when he finished 24th and scored 44. And yes, we missed out on his first Sprint Cup win. But we'll hear from him next season, when he makes Yahoo's B List (at least).
We at the People's Pitstop have already turned our attention to the upcoming week, including the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway. Again, the polls are open, so get started on your voting. Thanks.

Meet the People's Pigskin

It took just over half an hour for the members of the People's League to select their fantasy football teams for this year. We at the People's Pigskin were able to follow some of your advice in making our draft picks. Now we are proud to present our roster and a draft recap.
Round 1: The Internet's favorite fantasy football team drew the eighth spot in this 10-team draft. By the time we got to the podium, our targeted running back (Adrian Peterson) and quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) were already gone. In fact, three quarterbacks -- Rodgers, Michael Vick and Matt Ryan -- were already off the board. So we went with another workhorse running back, Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens.
Round 2: One of the advantages of having a late spot in a snake draft is that you get to make your second pick quickly. And this time, we were able to follow the advice you gave us in last week's polls. We got our targeted wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals.
Round 3: By the time our turn arrived in this round, six quarterbacks had been selected. If we didn't take one soon, we might have ended up with Curtis Painter. So we got our hands on Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys.
Round 4: A year ago, if I had told you that DeAngelo Williams would be available in the fourth round of a fantasy football draft, you might have asked if these folks were the ones making selections. True, his Carolina Panthers stank out loud last year, but he's still the primary weapon of his team, especially with a rookie under center.
Round 5: You might as well rename this round "The Tight End Round," since this seems to be when players start making their picks for that position. Unsurprisingly, Antonio Gates was picked early in this round. And the People's Pigskin was able to follow your advice and pick up Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys.
Rounds 6-8: We got two more wide receivers (Wes Welker of the New England Patriots and Percy Harvin of the Minnesota Vikings) and our backup quarterback (Eli Manning of the New York Giants).
Round 9: One of the hardest calls in any fantasy football draft is when to get your defense/special teams. Pull the trigger too early, and you might miss a chance to draft a quality offensive player. Wait too long, and you might end up getting the guys from "Necessary Roughness." The Hudson Valley Hawks2 got the ball rolling this round by drafting the New York Jets D/ST. We followed up by snagging the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And the rest: We selected Joseph Addai (Indianapolis Colts), Michael Bush (Oakland Raiders), Plaxico Burress (New York Jets), Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit Lions), Danny Woodhead (New England Patriots), Mike Sims-Walker (St. Louis Rams) and John Kasay (New Orleans Saints). Yes, we waited until the last round to get our kicker. Magazine writers across the country would be so proud.
And that's the lineup we will field this weekend as the People's Pigskin takes on the Hudson Valley Hawks2. The polls are now open. The one on top (for our kicker) will close Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, since Kasay is facing the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. The rest of the football polls can be found underneath the NASCAR polls and will close Saturday night. Let the voting begin!
We'll be back (hopefully) with the NASCAR results.

Draft Night, Baby!

There are few better times in a fantasy football player's life than the draft. As the NFL commercial said a few years back, as of right now, we're all undefeated. No one has suffered any Brian Westbrooks or DeSean Jacksons or any of the million other events that can break your heart on any given Sunday. Your roster is healthy (for the most part), and you have no reason to feel anything but optimism about the season.
For the People's League, that optimism will hit its peak at 9 p.m. EST tonight, when we hold our annual draft. By Tuesday, we should have a roster for the People's Pigskin and a new set of polls that will determine our lineup each week. (Remember: You, the Internet, told us to target Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald and Jason Witten in our draft, and we will do our best to get them on the roster.)
We came oh so close to winning the People's League championship last year. With your help, we can reach the top.
What we can't do is wait for Mother Nature to stop messing with NASCAR. The Sprint Cup race that was supposed to take place Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway has been postponed until Tuesday morning. We will try to get the People's Pitstop results to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, we are forced to turn our attention to Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway, the last chance for drivers to get into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It's a Saturday night race with a Friday qualifying session, so we have lineup polls up already. They will close Thursday night. Feel free to vote now.

Fearless Predictions - Atlanta

Today's post could be called a hybrid, since it covered both fantasy football and NASCAR.
Let's take care of the football news first. You, the Internet, were kind enough to vote in our polls about the People's Pigskin and which players it should target first in Monday night's People's League draft. You decided that we should target Larry Fitzgerald as our primary wide receiver (OK, as long as we don't have to pay him) and Jason Witten as our tight end. Those are the players we will try to pick up for those positions.
Now, we turn our attention to NASCAR. The Sprint Cup drivers will spend their Sunday night taking on Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the people who bring you the People's Pitstop will spend it hoping the drivers we pick for the top 10 don't make us look like clowns. Last week's forecasts went 2-2, lifting our season record to 29-59. All in all, it's still been a better season than Jerry Lewis is having.
One from the front: It probably wouldn't shock you to learn that Jeff Gordon has won four Sprint Cup races at Atlanta. It also probably won't shock you to learn that he's finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races. Given all this, it probably shouldn't shock you that Gordon starts tonight in 5th place.
One from the back: The pickings in the back 10 are particularly meager for this race. If hard pressed, we'll go with Dave Blaney, who starts 35th tonight and sits highest among the bottom 10 drivers in point standings (30th).
Two from the middle: Brad Keselowski did not qualify well enough (14th) to earn a starting spot this week, but a busted oil pan has been his team's only misstep since the Road America test. Keselowski has finished in the top 10 in the last five races, including two that he won outright.
Right in front of him tonight, in the 13th starting spot, we find Denny Hamlin. He currently holds the final wild card spot, but he probably would prefer one of the top 10 automatic qualifying spots. And he got a top 10 finish last week at Bristol.
Enjoy the race (and the telethon), everybody. We'll be back with results and new polls.